"Book lore" as a cultural strategy: Lessons from early Russia

Abstract

The article articulates the cultural practices underlying the Russian state in its early stage, namely the formation of ideologies and principles of governance based on “book lore” - via translations of Orthodox Byzantine literature. It demonstrates the close relationship between book lore and culture in general - in the sense of the book being the bosom of culture from where there was a gradual formation of core values with respect to Russian culture, a culture that to this day remains predominantly of book lore. The author's aim aspires to depict the process of national literature formation in early Russia as being derivative from Byzantine religious texts. The values and ideals borrowed from Byzantine texts provided Russian culture with ideas of spirituality and aloofness from this world which were preserved untouched throughout Russian history. These mechanisms of borrowing and meticulous eclecticism are affirmed as important elements of early Russia cultural strategy. The article aims to validate the development of Russian literature mainly from borrowing to becoming prosperous and independent.